Biography
During 1999 Eddie Platt reached 89 yet stayed youthful in outlook. The saxophonist whose 1958 success came with “Tequila” prepared to marry while savoring renewed attention generated when the film The Iron Giant incorporated his “Cha-Hua-Hua” recording.
Eddie Platakis entered the world on December 8, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio. His family relocated to the small community of Rossford, Ohio, near Toledo, during his childhood. He completed eleven years of schooling there before his father’s death prompted his mother and sister to return to Cleveland. At sixteen he assembled his initial ensemble while still enrolled at Rossford High. After transferring to East High School at 79th and Superior, he asked permission to graduate under the stage name Eddie Platt; the principal agreed, although he did not legally adopt the surname Platt until the mid-1990s.
He began performing in clubs around Rossman and Cleveland until military service halted those engagements for three years. Platt first enlisted briefly in the Army, then spent five months in the Air Force. With World War II underway the Army recalled him for infantry duty. He fulfilled half his service stateside before receiving orders for Europe and, ironically, never finished basic training in either branch. Following his discharge, from 1948 to 1952 he worked strip clubs alongside the Johnny Pecon Band, a period he found particularly gratifying; the engagement would have continued longer had certain older patrons not stirred controversy that led politicians to close the venues over what Platt later described as “excessive bumping and grinding,” an amount of movement he judged far milder than contemporary standards.
Between 1957 and 1967 he performed at the Hotel Manger, located at 12th and Chester in downtown Cleveland, supplying music for Hale York’s weekly 21-to-28 dances held each Friday on the second floor; local DJ Bill Randle promoted the events. While appearing there Platt recorded his debut single, “Rock Em” backed with “Chinese Lullaby,” for Epic Records. The release failed to chart, yet the following year he cut a version of the Champs’ hit “Tequila,” which reached number 20 on the Pop chart. He received no royalties, though he believes Bill Randle and Bill Buchanan collected more than $25,000 from ABC Paramount Records. A subsequent cover, the Pets’ “Cha-Hua-Hua,” climbed to number 34 Pop and later appeared on the twelve-song soundtrack of The Iron Giant.
Platt made television appearances on the Perry Como and Dick Clark programs, the latter being one of Clark’s nighttime specials aimed at the perennial teenage audience. In that era performers routinely lip-synced, yet at rehearsals Platt and a hastily assembled group of ten Cleveland musicians, among them saxophonist Tommy LiPuma, impressed the producers enough to perform live. This ensemble doubled his usual five-piece band, adding an extra player on every instrument, including drums; his regular sidemen could not leave their day jobs to travel for the broadcast.
Bill Randle also promoted concerts at St. Michaels on Union Avenue, where Platt appeared frequently. His band supported headline attractions such as Pat Boone, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, the Everly Brothers, and the Brothers Four on major rock-and-roll package shows that visited the city. The group delivered its own two hits before accompanying the remaining acts.
Platt issued the album Dance One independently, pressing 5,000 vinyl copies and ultimately selling 3,500 over several years. The collection contained five standards, the polka “Festival,” and six Latin compositions of his own; “Festival” served as the theme for the local All Nations Festival.
Platt resides in Euclid, Ohio, where he shares tennis, golf, ballroom dancing, and additional pursuits with his fiancée, Andrea. His first wife, Bobbie, passed away in 1988. He and Andrea have maintained their engagement for eight years, and he frequently notes that his intended is nineteen years his junior. Every Friday the couple dances at the Croatian Hall on Lakeshore Road, favoring the Chicago Hop, an energetic and inventive style. His only sibling, sister Marge Bell, remains a lively 85 and is his sole surviving relative. Platt’s next objective is to record a collection of tenor-saxophone pieces suited for both dancing and intimate listening.
Eddie Platakis entered the world on December 8, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio. His family relocated to the small community of Rossford, Ohio, near Toledo, during his childhood. He completed eleven years of schooling there before his father’s death prompted his mother and sister to return to Cleveland. At sixteen he assembled his initial ensemble while still enrolled at Rossford High. After transferring to East High School at 79th and Superior, he asked permission to graduate under the stage name Eddie Platt; the principal agreed, although he did not legally adopt the surname Platt until the mid-1990s.
He began performing in clubs around Rossman and Cleveland until military service halted those engagements for three years. Platt first enlisted briefly in the Army, then spent five months in the Air Force. With World War II underway the Army recalled him for infantry duty. He fulfilled half his service stateside before receiving orders for Europe and, ironically, never finished basic training in either branch. Following his discharge, from 1948 to 1952 he worked strip clubs alongside the Johnny Pecon Band, a period he found particularly gratifying; the engagement would have continued longer had certain older patrons not stirred controversy that led politicians to close the venues over what Platt later described as “excessive bumping and grinding,” an amount of movement he judged far milder than contemporary standards.
Between 1957 and 1967 he performed at the Hotel Manger, located at 12th and Chester in downtown Cleveland, supplying music for Hale York’s weekly 21-to-28 dances held each Friday on the second floor; local DJ Bill Randle promoted the events. While appearing there Platt recorded his debut single, “Rock Em” backed with “Chinese Lullaby,” for Epic Records. The release failed to chart, yet the following year he cut a version of the Champs’ hit “Tequila,” which reached number 20 on the Pop chart. He received no royalties, though he believes Bill Randle and Bill Buchanan collected more than $25,000 from ABC Paramount Records. A subsequent cover, the Pets’ “Cha-Hua-Hua,” climbed to number 34 Pop and later appeared on the twelve-song soundtrack of The Iron Giant.
Platt made television appearances on the Perry Como and Dick Clark programs, the latter being one of Clark’s nighttime specials aimed at the perennial teenage audience. In that era performers routinely lip-synced, yet at rehearsals Platt and a hastily assembled group of ten Cleveland musicians, among them saxophonist Tommy LiPuma, impressed the producers enough to perform live. This ensemble doubled his usual five-piece band, adding an extra player on every instrument, including drums; his regular sidemen could not leave their day jobs to travel for the broadcast.
Bill Randle also promoted concerts at St. Michaels on Union Avenue, where Platt appeared frequently. His band supported headline attractions such as Pat Boone, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, the Everly Brothers, and the Brothers Four on major rock-and-roll package shows that visited the city. The group delivered its own two hits before accompanying the remaining acts.
Platt issued the album Dance One independently, pressing 5,000 vinyl copies and ultimately selling 3,500 over several years. The collection contained five standards, the polka “Festival,” and six Latin compositions of his own; “Festival” served as the theme for the local All Nations Festival.
Platt resides in Euclid, Ohio, where he shares tennis, golf, ballroom dancing, and additional pursuits with his fiancée, Andrea. His first wife, Bobbie, passed away in 1988. He and Andrea have maintained their engagement for eight years, and he frequently notes that his intended is nineteen years his junior. Every Friday the couple dances at the Croatian Hall on Lakeshore Road, favoring the Chicago Hop, an energetic and inventive style. His only sibling, sister Marge Bell, remains a lively 85 and is his sole surviving relative. Platt’s next objective is to record a collection of tenor-saxophone pieces suited for both dancing and intimate listening.